User blog:Myself v1.0/HP over defenses? O rly?
Lots of "now Health serves better than defenses" has been heard around, but is this true? and if it is, how should it be addressed? It is true that now that Madred's bloodrazor users have been kicked directly in the dick, and that Deathfire grasp has undergone some changes, there is less repression when stacking HP like an obsessed, and although users of the old Warmog's armor+Force of nature combo keep seeing this as a nerf, new Warmog's is more universal, and almost everybody gets hugely beneffitted from it. On the other hand, the changes in the defense reduction/penetration, the changes on The black cleaver, and that Riot has not made new items with magic damage mitigation skills, have made that stacking Armor and/or Magic Resistance feels more frustrating. Does this actually mean that getting Health is better than getting Armor and Magic Resistance? That seems so, but I think it should be seen from another perspective: For starters, even when the bloodrazor is out of scene, and that DFG has been changed, let's remember that their heir are still around. Blade of the ruined king and Liandry's torment (Blackfire torch in Twisted Treeline) are still options for weakening fast Health-stacking characters, although less effective than their "parents", given that they do damage based on a percentage of the objective ACTUAL Health, instead of maximum. On the other hand, this damages get reduced with Armor and Magic Resistance respectively. Can you already see the sketch? If you get Health, albeit less effectively than before (And even when Botrk is finally being seen less and less), it can get reduced fast to it's 50%, and then get finished off by other means or by asking for a fast gank. If you get Armor/Magic Resistance, the enemy doesn't even needs to get shreding items, with percentual Penetration and some base Penetration they're already nullifying them and thus, you need Health. And then we're back again with the fact that when you get Health you need, defenses, and that when you need defenses you also need Health. What made me think that all of this "HP > Defenses" thing is a misconception was the fact that not all of the items that give mitigating abilities give Health, while however, except for one, every single one of then yield Magic Resistance or Armor: ·Without going too far, in terms of counter crowd control, we have Tenacity, which is given by Mercury's treads, Spirit of the ancient golem, and Zephyr. Only the Spirit gives Health. Boots of Mobility can also reduce slows, and they neither yield Health. Although they don't have passives, Quicksilver sash and Mercurial scimitar are also useful for removing crowd control, and they neither give Health. ·To counter physical damage we have Ninja tabi, Randuin's omen, and Frozen heart, and only the Randuin's gives Health. Lastly, if you have more Health than the enemy carry, there is also the Thornmail. Maybe Randuin's, Heart and Mail passives don't seem to reduce physical damage, but reducing the assailant AS, or reducing it's Health to force it retire before killing you are actually good ways to reduce the physical damage output. ·In order to counter magical damage there is only Maw of Malmortius, and it neither gives Health. Sadly, it's not useful on everybody, given the stats it gives. Odyn's veil, however, also gives Health, and is more universal, but sadly again, it can only be obtained in Dominion. ·Lastly, and as a global mitigation item, there is the Banshee's veil. It yields Health, but also Magic Resist. This items hugely help players who want to tank up their characters, maybe even more than plain Health. When building, it feels more gratifying, per example, getting Warmog's armor+Randuin's omen+Banshee's veil against balanced damage team comps, rather than Warmog's armor+Frozen mallet+Anyother health item. Defenses and mitigation abilities actually help to preserve better your Health, while in turn, Randuin's and BV keep boosting Warmog's regen. Am I trying to say that this is the definitive combo for tanks? Of course not, each character needs a different understanding in order to build it better. What I am trying to say with all of this is that, despite the common belief about how Health is better than Armor/MR, this season itemization only valued better Health, but it is not the most important thing in a build. In fact, if you bring up a build with just a defensive item, now it can be considered what is better depending on the enemy team composition. So, IN MY OPINION, what this season has done is reinforce the concept of balancing Health, Armor, Magic Resistance as best as possible. "Balance in all things"- Kennen, the heart of the tempest. Please, analyze the matter and discuss. Category:Blog posts